Hello Mongoose,
I thought I'd start this post to see if I can provide a place where fellow Travellers including myself could post suggestions about this new Traveller line and what we'd really like to see. It is my hope this may facilitate a method to get an idea for future products and enhance the system tremendously.

Fellow fans, this topic is strictly for putting your ideas for the future product pipeline out there.(No negative comments please, everyone is entitled to there own ideas and opinions.) I'm sure Mongoose would love to know what we all want so let's give it to them.

So here's my thoughts on Traveller as a game overall and my hopes for this new edition along with how I came about now owning everything currently released so far.

Firstly I received an email from Marc Miller highlighting an exciting new campaign: 'The Great Rift and Deep Space Exploration'. As I found that T5 although a certainly monumental effort was interesting the end conclusion was that the system was more of a toolkit for designing a game and not a game itself. Personally I always felt T4 was more on par with heading towards a great version of Traveller but sadly that folded before it was complete. So to has so many editions of Traveller including Mongooses version but I decided to back the Kickstarter and obtain everything in order to go for one last hurrah so to speak.

Well I received the books and while I am really liking the terrific structure, well laid out setting, here's what I'm hoping for to make this version of Traveller the best ever.

1. The Aliens simply have to have a new completely updated set of rule books. The first edition of Mongooses Traveller was commendable but sadly didn't finish doing all the races. The GURPS Traveller seems to have been the closest to giving what classic Traveller put forward a long time ago. That was my biggest dissapointment with the new rule book. There's really only 4 races listed. At least do the entire 8 original races (Aslan, K'Kree, Vargr, Zhodani, Droyne, Solomani, Hivers and Darrians). A new updated book for each would be greatly appreciated, especially the Hivers and there implications on Traveller society.

2. I'm not phased with how the galactic maps are done anymore but PLEASE at least keep them the same as what you established for the 1st Mongoose edition. Lack of any real standard for the planetary stats between versions is a pest. Why must everyone have 'MY VERSION OF TRAVELLER,' can't some areas be standard for EVERYONE who plays the game? The Mongoose 'Atlas Of The Imperium' perhaps?

3. It's high and dry time for some new Miniatures capable starship deck plans again. The FASA efforts remain some of the best and who doesn't love the famous Azhanti High Lightning set? I'd love to see that done with more details and better artwork to bring them up to standard for the new edition. I've still got some Traveller mini's and in the classic 15mm style as well. It would be nice to have some great deck plans to use them with. (I've actually owned and sold a lot over the years but if there good enough, I'm hoping these will finally be the ones I keep for good.)

4. An emphasis on an error free rules system and add ons. (A pet peave with T5 was how there could be an error full stop after all this time. Sad to see really).

5. A guidebook to the Travellers Aid Society, it's benefits and how it can benefit the Traveller players.

6. Adventures that highlight all the other amazing aspects of the Traveller universe and encourage games that are not all military let's blow everything up style adventures. Eg. Pleasure planets of the far future battle a deadly plague, The end of my world was yesterday or so said the Hiver, Zodani games for people without telepathic abilities. In short interesting additions that will enhance the world of Traveller. I was also dissapointed at the seemingly military focus of the new rule books.

7. Traveller Science. Now this one could surely provide some very interesting science fiction tales. Adventures to discover the limits of jump space, worlds within the system that are hidden Dyson Sphere's and of course 'studies of the ancients,'

8. Starship Guidebook for the budget Traveller. I'd love to see starships that starting adventurers could afford and the modifications and add ons that can help them. Perhaps a Starship Equipment Guide or Galactic Starship parts catalogue.

9. A book for Traveller like the classic Cyberpunk 2020 book 'Listen Up You Primitive Screw Heads.' This book highlighted some great tips and incite into not only running a better Cyberpunk game but also playing more satisfying Role Playing Games in general. A Traveller version would be superb and I bring this example to the table as I like the Mongoose 1st edition for bringing a Cybernetic rules book into the game. Here's to the new 2nd edition updated version bringing in a fabulous full colour Cyberware and augmentation catalogue.

10. Living in a Multi variable Tech Level Universe. Are you more likely to get robbed on a TL 2 world if your from a TL 8 level for example due to the people wanting what they have lost again? Is it better to dress appropriately for these varied worlds. Cultural issues and divisions amongst the galactic community caused by pinnacle of collaboration, working together and achieving amazing technological feats versus collapse into a new dark age and societies with medievil ideas and thoughts on society. A Tech Level guide book up to a point. Obviously for the highest tech level, that's an amazing avenue for gamers to explore ideas that we may never have even dreamed of before. As to what level you stop at would be a fascinating read in itself and the reasons why.

Anyway, that's enough for a single post and remember fellow gamers that's just my thoughts, desires and hopes for this new edition. I'm sure you have your own ideas and suggestions and I'd love to read them just as much as I'm certain Mongoose would as well.

Fellow fans, this topic is strictly for putting your ideas for the future product pipeline out there.(No negative comments please, everyone is entitled to there own ideas and opinions.) I'm sure Mongoose would love to know what we all want so let's give it to them.

Well, constructive criticism can be good, not negative per see but explaining what you might not like and what you would like to see changed.

2. I'm not phased with how the galactic maps are done anymore but PLEASE at least keep them the same as what you established for the 1st Mongoose edition. Lack of any real standard for the planetary stats between versions is a pest. Why must everyone have 'MY VERSION OF TRAVELLER,' can't some areas be standard for EVERYONE who plays the game? The Mongoose 'Atlas Of The Imperium' perhaps?

Take this for an example, what don't you like about how they are done?

Note things are synchronized with travellermap.com, changes have also been reflected there.

..to continue what they are doing. More colour, more solid creative illustrations, more thought and better designs, less errors, far higher quality than the previous books. There are some things like the animals that I would like to see done better but overall the new line is growing on me and I am planning to buy the 3 outstanding books in the very near future. I love the look of the new mission books as well.

But its a real shame you can see inside them online much - so I am sure what I am buying - as they are rather expensive and cant look at them in shops ....

Yes definitely interested in a Travellers Aid Society book. It should really be part of a Third Imperium Source Book that is badly needed IMO as there is nothing published lately about the main source of gameplay for many people who play Traveller - its been a massive omission for many many years. I still have my Spinward Marches book and there are other similar books and alien books etc that have covered elements of this main setting but nothing completely coherent covering policing, law, military, investigation, settllment policies of outlying districts, politics with neighbouring factions and races, exploration of unknown sectors and the extent of colonised space, science and distribution of technologies, trade routes and trade territories, pirate bases and lawless areas, economy and finance, insurance, arts and culture, etc etc. So much needs fleshing out about the main setting and bringing together into one almighty book IMO.

Our group has started the Pirates of Drinax campaign, which I expect will take at least 6 months to complete, and I expect the Great Rift Box will be something of a dream campaign, when I get it too. In some respects I am well catered for.

Future books, therefor aren't necessarily urgent, but I'll keep buying them as I like. I do like the idea of getting the Alien books done well in a complete sense, but I'm not sure on the format - short supplements or big hardbacks. The latter is the most likely format, but I wouldn't discard the first idea if it becomes an issue to get these supplements out more quickly. I'd actually argue the same for the delayed Companion book, incidentally. If the Companion book is going to be a big hardback, then it may be an idea to include generation rules at least for the other major Alien species in it?

The mooted Mercenary and Psion books are apparently in the pipeline, and I think will probably be popular - although I don't just want to see a load of thin paperbacks for these sorts of things anymore. Aim to continue the same format as the 'core four' at a deliberate slow rate so that the content is truly meaningful and meaty. I don't think the game needs to be swamped with rules books though. Oh, and I do want a comprehensive collective index for the core books done sometime - maybe as a short supplement.

For me, however, the stuff I'd really still jump up and down at would be a miniatures game, and more digital support - even a full digital game actually with solo or multi-user capability.

I'm really hoping an Aliens Guide is in the works that would be comparable the alien book that was released for T4E, or at least similar in scope to the already released High Guard and Vehicles Handbook. As a Traveller referee I would find 20-30 pages on each major race in a collected one-book guide far more useful for my table than 4-8 volumes of 100+ pages on each. Sure, I can understand that lots of info is useful.....but my actual experience has been the opposite, that too much information leads to a smaller likelihood of adoption at the table. My favorite alien books, honestly, were the original ones that came out for CT....perfect size, just right in the volume of info.

I would still like to see a variant on "Fire, Fusion & Steel" that focused on alternate technology and universe-building tools for the referee. I was under the impression the Traveller Companion might fill that role, but it seems to have disappeared?

Finally: this is more of a hypothetical concept, but a Traveller "Weird Worlds" tome or anthology, which explores the fringe of what Traveller can be. Traveller as a dystopian Cyberpunk game, Traveller as a horror setting, Traveller as a STL solar system colonization setting, Traveller used to explore low-tech and primitive worlds, Traveller as a planetary romance or high concept space opera universe, etc.. Not sure what format these could take (maybe PDF/POD would be ideal) but there's a lot you could do with Traveller right now that just that extra layer of support would be very useful for.

A collated Third Imperium aliens book could be interesting (so long as you would also be happy with the 160+ page books expanding on a single race, as I think others would want them). On a similar note, we are making sure our sector books feature more (and playable!) minor alien races.

Finally: this is more of a hypothetical concept, but a Traveller "Weird Worlds" tome or anthology, which explores the fringe of what Traveller can be. Traveller as a dystopian Cyberpunk game, Traveller as a horror setting, Traveller as a STL solar system colonization setting, Traveller used to explore low-tech and primitive worlds, Traveller as a planetary romance or high concept space opera universe, etc.. Not sure what format these could take (maybe PDF/POD would be ideal) but there's a lot you could do with Traveller right now that just that extra layer of support would be very useful for.

That could be interesting. STL and low-tech settings are a natural fit and the others are at least possible. (Could Pirates of Drinax be played as space opera?) Planetary romance would be doable, especially with the dynamics of Imperial nobility to work with. (Maybe an expansion of backgrounds and more information on cultures as a starting point?) But things like horror and cyberpunk might be better ideas for one-shots or mini-campaigns. Chamax Plague could be an example of Traveller horror. Advanced robotics could be the seed for a Stepford Wives style society - robots are secretly taking over our world! And there’s always alien technology...

8. Starship Guidebook for the budget Traveller. I'd love to see starships that starting adventurers could afford and the modifications and add ons that can help them. Perhaps a Starship Equipment Guide or Galactic Starship parts catalogue.

This suggests a Traveller campaign model that I have written about a few times, but which I think hasn't been done in print except maybe in a few of the classic 76 Patrons story seeds:

Travellers fly commercial.

Maybe the player characters are a group of speculative traders with a single shipping container full of assorted stuff too inconsequential for even a free trader to bother with.

Maybe they're traveling sales people with a pallet of samples of things sold by a company on their homeworld, with a dton or two of goods for immediate purchase, and more available by order.

Maybe they're scientists visiting various worlds to collect samples of life forms that originated as Earth species, but have diverged into new species in response to local ecological conditions.

Maybe they're nobles (or well-off commoners) with a passion for playing golf in every possible set of gravitational and atmospheric conditions.

Maybe they're corporate fix-it people checking up on local branches, and resolving threats to branches' business, possibly through subtle legal means, possibly through illegal or violent means.

Maybe they're bounty hunters or a repossession team, trying to locate ships on a long list of those with mortgages that have fallen into default.

Maybe they're part of a mercenary company, mostly out to find recruits and opportunities for big tickets, but open to the occasional job that can be quickly handled by a small team.

Maybe they're Imperial spies, following the trail of an internal threat.

The first thing I'd like to see is a 'universe building guide', which gives help to newer GMs on building their universe and how different technologies will change universes, such as hyperdrive leading to more centralised government or an utter lack of FTL leading to independent systems connected by antimatter powered craft. A book about building your science fiction would with discussion about the sliders you can tweak, such as FTL, aliens, technology levels, supertech (like energy shields), and so on.